New Simplified Diagnostic Decision Trees for the Detention of Metabolic Syndrome in the Elderly

Diagnostic Accuracy of Waist-to-Height Ratio, Waist Circumference, and Body Mass Index in Identifying Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background

Although numerous studies have indicated the utility of waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in early screening for individuals with adverse cardiometabolic health, there is controversy on using WHtR as a one-size-fits-all approach, including in older adults.

Objectives

Our study aims to identify the pooled diagnostic accuracy of WHtR in screening for metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components among older adults.

Methods

A systematic review of observational studies was performed using 4 databases. A diagnostic meta-analysis with a random effects model was conducted, and the pooled area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio (dOR) of each outcome compared with WHtR, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) were calculated, with sex-stratified analysis.

Results

A total of 17 studies with 74,520 participants were included. As reflected by the dOR, WHtR (7.65; 95% CI: 6.00, 9.75) performed better than BMI (5.17; 95% CI: 4.75, 5.62) and WC (5.77; 95% CI: 4.60, 7.25) in screening for MetS among older adults and was potentially better among males. For hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, the performances of WHtR, BMI, and WC were comparable.

Conclusion

More studies focusing on older adults are still needed to determine the cutoff values of WHtR to screen for MetS.The search strategy was registered in PROSPERO as CRD42022350379.

Proposed cut-off points for anthropometric and bioelectrical measures based on overweight and obesity criteria in Spanish institutionalised elderly people

The increasing prevalence of obesity among the institutionalised elderly population and its severe consequences on health requires an early and accurate diagnosis that can be easily achieved in any clinical setting. This study aimed to determine new cut-off values for anthropometric and bioelectrical impedance measures that are superior to body mass index criteria for overweight and obesity status in a sample of Spanish institutionalised elderly population. A total of 211 institutionalised older adults (132 women, aged 84.3±7.3 years; 79 men, aged 81.5±7.3 years) were enrolled in the current cross-sectional study. Anthropometric and bioelectrical impedance measures included the body mass index, waist circumference, gluteal circumference, waist-hip ratio, sagittal-abdominal diameter, trunk fat, and visceral-fat ratio. In women, the waist circumference, gluteal circumference, sagittal-abdominal diameter, trunk fat, and visceral-fat index presented strongly significant specificity and sensitivity (area under the curve [AUC], p<0.0001) and elevated discriminative values (receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curves: 0.827 to 0.867) for overweight and obesity status. In men, the waist-hip ratio, waist circumference, gluteal circumference, sagittal-abdominal diameter, trunk fat, and visceral-fat ratio were strongly significant AUC (p<0.0001), with moderate-to-high values (ROC curves: 0.757-0.871). In conclusion, our findings suggest that gluteal circumference, waist circumference, and sagittal-abdominal diameter in women and trunk fat, visceral-fat ratio, and waist circumference in men may represent more suitable cut-off values superior to body mass index criteria for overweight and obesity in the Spanish institutionalised elderly population.